The world of football is filled with amazing players playing for some great clubs. Unfortunately, like in other sports, there are some exceptionally talented players who seem to be playing for small teams, even though their potential at a bigger club is much higher.
Also read: 5 strikers who have revived their careers this season
In all these players out there, there are five very gifted strikers who certainly deserve to play for a bigger club. Take a look.
#1 Bas Dost
Bas Dost is a Dutch footballer who plays for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese League. He has been one of the most underrated forwards in the world with teams like Aston Villa and Southampton trying to sign him.
Over the past few seasons, he has shown that he is much better than that. Bas Dost is different in the sense that he is more of an old-fashioned forward, a classical poacher. Most of his goals are one touch finishes and that is a big positive.
He uses his height advantage to win headers and keep the ball for his team. He’s scored 7 goals in 8 appearances in the league in his first season for the club. Last year, he scored 8 goals and assisted twice in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg, making a fine statement.
Although he’s not the best with the ball at his feet, he makes up for it with his fine killer instinct and accurate shooting. Bigger clubs should be on the lookout for this 28-year-old.
#2 Charlie Austin
Charlie Austin is an English footballer who plays for Southampton in the Premier League. His best attribute is to look for space where the defence is weakest and punish them with his accurate shooting.
His movement throughout the game is commendable, as he keeps working on opening up the defence. He’s scored 29 goals in 2 seasons in the Championship and has managed to score 18 goals in the Premier League (2014/2015) while playing for QPR. That’s something to note as he played alongside a very poor QPR team in the Premier League, but was very successful.
He moved to Southampton and this season, he’s already scored 6 goals and assisted once in just 10 appearances. Adding to that, he has very good aerial ability, winning 3.1 duels per game which is higher than players like Costa and Kane. With good shooting, excellent movement and commendable aerial ability, he is a very special striker who deserves a club bigger than Southampton.
#3 Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku is a 23-year-old Belgian footballer who plays as a striker for Everton. At only 22, he has scored 100 first team goals, which is faster than Messi and Rooney.
In the Premier League itself, he scored 50 goals before turning 23 to become the 4th youngest player to achieve the feat, joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen. He has also impressed for the Belgian National Team scoring 19 goals already, and is on track to become the leading scorer for Belgium in a few years’ time.
He is extremely strong in the air and on the ball in the box, making him a nuisance to defend against. Besides that, he is also a clinical finisher and offers a more direct approach to goal. He has been linked to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, and in truth, he completely deserves it.
This season, he has already scored 7 goals and assisted 3 times. He also has 1.8 dribbles and 1.8 key passes per game, higher than the last few seasons. Lukaku also has an incredible shot accuracy of 70% this season. This, after his recent slump in form.
The 22-year-old is destined to become a great player but as of now, he needs to work a bit on his link up play and his passing.
#4 Alexandre Lacazette
Alexandre Lacazette is a French footballer who plays for Lyon in Ligue 1. In the past few seasons, he has been targeted by clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool. Lacazette is the player around which Lyon’s attacking threat is concentrated. His link up play with the wingers is admirable, while at the same time he can drop into midfield to hold up play.
He is incredibly fast for a forward and has a deft touch. Although he’s not the strongest in the air, he makes up for it with his agility and pressing. Lacazette has been in hot form scoring 11 goals in 10 appearances in Ligue 1. He’s already scored 48 goals and made 9 assists in the last season, and there’s no stopping him from continuing the good record this season.
There’s one big question mark, though. Is he destined for a club like Lyon or much more? The team around him isn’t good enough to help Lyon win the Ligue 1 title. With the traits he has, he would fit perfectly into a team which has a very mobile attack and one which can counter. Teams such as Liverpool and Chelsea(under Conte) could be a good place to go for Lacazette.
At just 25 years of age, Lacazette still has his best years ahead of him and could seek a move to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
#5 Mauro Icardi
Mauro Icardi is an Argentine striker who plies his trade at Inter Milan. The current season has been shaky for the Italian side so far. While they’ve had impressive victories against teams like Juventus and Fiorentina, they’ve lost games against smaller teams such as Sampdoria, Atalanta and Cagliari.
One standout for the team among all of this, though, is Mauro Icardi. He’s fired on all cylinders this season scoring 12 goals and making 4 assists in the first 15 games of the Serie A. His performances have been very impressive. He is a lethal poacher in the box converting any half-chances he gets. The Argentine has also scored a lot of goals with headers and this has to be attributed to his excellent movement in the box and between defenders.
He can also shoot very well from within the box, while his contribution outside of the box has been questioned. Icardi has been working on it and if he masters the style of link up play with his midfielders, he will be a complete attacker. He’s already been pegged by the great Javier Zanetti to be something special in the future and that seems completely possible.
Inter Milan might not be the place for him to become great, though. Though the club has an incredible history, there’s been somewhat of a sense of failure over the past few years. The players around him aren’t that great either. With clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal trying to sign him, let’s hope something special happens.
